“Woo hoo, it’s time to teach ER French verbs – my favorite day!” said no French teacher ever. “Yippee, thank you for teaching us ER French verbs and conjugations!”, said no French student ever. How do we approach teaching present tense ER French verbs, and others, to engage students and stay in the target language at the same time? The two moments can go hand-in-hand: teach French grammar in French and connect with our students.
How? Routines and rituals. Meaning before form.
Routines and rituals come in the form of ER French verbs and how I limit the subject pronouns to “I, you-informal, he/she/one”. This limited introduction of speaking only lowers their affective filters which allows me to keep teaching in French. Students also expect that when they walk into class, there will always be partner activities and participation. Also, meaning before form takes shape when I introduce keywords and gestures that I expect students always to use during their speaking activities with partners.
This blog is part 3 in a series of posts on how to teach French grammar in French. Today’s post is about present tense grammar – in particular ER French verbs, the most common category for French 1 students. All of the suggestions can be related to IR and RE French verbs as well as other World Languages and categories of verbs.
Take ideas. Adapt ideas. Change what you need to support your style of delivery, your students, and their personalities. And start conversations with your colleagues about the topic of teaching French grammar in French – it sure is an interesting one!
ER French verbs – Example #1
Patterns: A new twist on a old strategy
Timelines are a great visual way to show the difference between past, present, and future dates. To add extra reinforced meaning to the timeline, I also teach keywords or tag words to students and then hold the expectation that students use them to show meaning.
I want to keep speaking French when teaching the concept(s) of “J’étudie.” (I study or I’m studying) yet highlight the difference between the two without translating into English. I start with yes/no questions to students about whether or not I can say or write “J’étudier” (I to study). They tell me that I can’t do that. Super! This is the first step in me being able to teach ER French verbs in French. Not only do I ask that question in French, but I write it on the board and underline the “ER”. They tell me no and I cross out the “ER”. I do not stop at asking one question with a yes/no answer. I continue asking if I can write:
- “Je chanter.” No.
- “Je nager.” No.
- I continue to underline the “ER” for each of the next 6 questions and cross it out when they say no.
- I specifically ask certain students this yes/no question in French. I ask my struggling students. I wait until we are 5 or 6 verbs into the pattern before I ask my struggling students until I can tell they have caught on. I need them to say no all on their own and feel the success of a correct answer during class.
- I ask the struggling student. Bingo! A correct answer of no. I start back at the top of the list and move through the yes/no questions again. No. No. No. No. No. No. All correct answers.
I start each day with this activity and by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th days, it only takes 20 seconds but it is still an important part of the ER French verbs introduction routine as I keep speaking and asking yes/no questions in French. Struggling students see a pattern of “no” and they wait for the next pattern from me. They know that I will use a visual and spoken pattern – they trust that my questions will be yes/no and either/or. This lowers their affective filter and they feel successful with the pattern that I’ve introduced.
Reminder: teaching ER French verbs in French is as much about when and how to use them correctly as it is when and how not to use them.
ER French verbs – Example #2
Keywords and gestures for ER French verbs frame the concept of “I study” (a generality) vs “I’m studying” (specifically right now) without explaining it in English. How to do this? Keywords and gestures that are connected to the sentence. At this point of the unit, I’m only using the “I” and “you–informal” form for the ER French verbs because we can practice with small conversations and partners.
I also insert the negative form right away (“ne…pas” in French) to expand the ability to answer a question.
- I study. I don’t study.
- I eat. I don’t eat.
- I speak. I don’t speak.
- Etc…
To reinforce “I study” (a generality), students must add “in general, often, always, rarely, on Tuesdays, for my birthday” with a generalized sentence to show how often. “On Tuesday nights, I study at home.” “I always study at home. Do you always study at home?”
To reinforce “I’m studying” (at this very moment), a second set of keywords is introduced:
- at this very moment
- right now
- at this exact second
And the gesture of pointing to the floor or tapping the desk to reinforce right now is a required addition to a sentence. If they don’t add “at this very moment”, then I expect “in general” or “each Halloween”.
Additionally, I include places (in class, in the cafeteria, at home, on vacation, etc…) which give students another element to listen for when someone is talking to them. It doesn’t matter to me that the “places in town” unit hasn’t occurred. I introduce some basic locations with visuals and gestures that give us a head start on the unit yet it’s natural and in context. Teaching ER French verbs can bring in many smaller pieces to make the unit more interesting until the bigger “places in town” unit.
ER French verbs – Final Thoughts
When I hear students tell a partner “je mange au restaurant” (I eat / I am eating), I stop and ask them “Right now? At this moment?” “No, no, no, Madame. For my birthday” they respond in French. This expectation is how they show me comprehension and understanding of when they mean “I eat” or “I’m eating” and they know each sentence needs to contain a keyword and gesture.
Keywords for “in general” are posted on one wall on large chart paper. Keywords for “at this moment” are posted on the opposite wall on large chart paper. This keeps me teaching in French because I can point to the large wall charts. If a student has to fumble through a notebook to find a written list or the handout, then the learning moment has passed. When the momentum is lost, students are more likely to tune out and/or return to English.
Their French is not perfect every day. But their use of grammar is like a horizontal spiral across French 1. We return to and reuse structures and verbs throughout the year. We return to and reuse keywords and gestures throughout the year. We add, expand, and they learn new uses with subsequent units and verb categories.
When the topic of actually teaching the entire conjugation of an ER French verb arrives, I teach it as a pattern to learn NOT a verb to memorize. This usually happens at the beginning of French 2 because present tense ER French verbs are reviewed and practiced in context. The focus of early French 2 is the “I, you-informal, he/she/one” forms and I reintroduce the routines, rituals, context, language functions, visuals, and gestures learned in French 1. Students are ready to move on to the plural forms … if it fits the context of the unit.
Part 1 in this series: Teach French Grammar in French – Beginning Levels
Part 2 in this series: Teach Present Tense Verbs in French – aller, être, avoir
Part 4 in this series: Teach le Passé Composé in French
To watch the video version of this blog, check out my YouTube channel (L’Essentiel French Resources) where I use gestures and expressions to explain myself a little better. The next few blog posts in this series will tackle grammar topics such as le passé composé (past tense) and l’imparfait (imperfect). Join me in the conversation and then bring it up to colleagues as a meeting and sharing of the minds.
My name is Lisa and I enjoy being your new French colleague. How can I help you tomorrow?
